This study explores the relationship between students' perception of the learning process in their secondary school arts classes and seven contextual elements: (1) teachers' demographic characteristics and their attitudes; (2) students' demographic characteristics and their self-concepts; (3) the classroom environment; (4) the curricular content of the classes; (5) teachers' behaviors regarding the use of time, decision-making, and instructional practices; (6) the type and variety of class activities; and (7) the nature of student interactions with their teachers and their relationships with other students. Data from a national sample of 122 art classes in 25 secondary schools came from the 1977 project, A Study of Schooling. Classrooms were observed for an entire period at least three times using the modified form of the Stanford Research Institute's Classroom Observation Instrument. Teachers provided information by responding to a survey and interview, and the students responded to a survey which included closed and open-ended questions. Canonical correlation and regression analysis was used to relate the seven sets of variables to the student. Four sets of variables: teacher behavior; interactions and relationships; curricular content; and student characteristics accounted for the strongest correlations. Implications of the findings for the improvement of arts education are discussed. (SY)